The Fox Gang
by Bitter Faerie
Summary: A lighthearted account of what Naruto's academy days could have been like if he had gotten smart. T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, so, here's my first fanfiction….ever. **

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Naruto stared dejectedly out at the crowd of kids from his spot on the swing. They all looked so happy. And they should! The group of kids celebrating with their parents in the schoolyard hadn't just failed the final exam of the Academy for the third time.

They wouldn't be going home to an empty home, and even if they were, they wouldn't simply not notice that this was different, because it wasn't.(1)

Naruto was the one without any family to comfort him, notice him, or help him. And Naruto had just failed the exam for the third time. Naruto knew he was out of extra lives. He had joined the Academy three years earlier than was usual, hoping to get an edge on the kids his age, but also to escape the loneliness of solitude.(2) He hadn't had the prospect of three extra years of play to keep him out. But Naruto had failed three times, which meant that next year he would be in a class of kids his age. Naruto knew he wouldn't be able to come back again if he failed next time.

He wouldn't be able to take the shame of being older than the class. The whispers would get to him. And it was there that Naruto made a decision that would change his future, his fate, his entire being.

Uzumaki Naruto decided that he would become a person worthy of notice. He would pass. Naruto would become a person so fearsome that these happy people would forget their cheer when he approached. The only thing on their mind would be him. Naruto didn't want to be feared, though. He just wanted to be acknowledged. He would have to be strong, and smile so he wouldn't be feared. And so a young Naruto became a plotter, in a greater sense than ever before.

The fates cackled, and somewhere, Minato smiled.

"Give 'em hell, Naruto."

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(1) I'm just trying to say that the other kids have families and Naruto doesn't, so Naruto is used to coming home to an empty house and it isn't surprising to him, but to the other kids, it probably would be.

(2). Alright, I know he lived in the village, but he was still extremely alone. And yes, this footnote is pretty much useless, but I like to make footnotes. So there.

**A/N: Um, yeah. I know it's a tad boring as hell….so please give me feedback! I'll be posting chapters as quickly as possible.**


	2. Chapter 2

Thwack thwack thwack. The three kunai landed perfectly in the middle of the target in rapid succession, and the class did a double take. Even Iruka frowned in surprise.

"Alright, who did Naruto convince to switch with him?" he demanded to the class. Even Sasuke was leaning forward with a frown. Everyone had heard about this blonde boy who had failed the final exam three times. Was that a fluke? Naruto scowled.

"Ne, ne, I'm myself, Iruka-sensei!" Iruka gave Naruto a surprised look. "I've been practicing!" Naruto supplied proudly.

"That's nice Naruto. You've finally seen that you should put all your effort into education, have you?" He gave Naruto a distracted smile as he called the next student forward and Naruto walked back towards the group. Naruto ignored the whispers around him as he thought back, a dazed look on his face.

To say Naruto had been practicing was an understatement. He had thrown all his being into training, taking his body to its limit at day, and staying up at night to pore over scrolls. He had never before realized how much time he wasted pranking and procrastinating. It was pleasant, to see the results of the Academy's break as being so productive. The nin of the village had been on edge all summer, thinking Naruto was plotting some great prank. But here Naruto was, doing well in school for once, and not wearing orange.

I'll have to practice more. Naruto mused as he watched more students step forward. Just being able to hit targets won't make me a great ninja. I'll have to visit the old man soon for tips. Being able to get into his office unnoticed alone will take practice. Sasuke observed the previous dead last from a spot a little ways away from the main group.

I should spar with him. That would be good practice. He thought with a small smirk. Then he was called up to throw. Sasuke stepped forward to the line and swiftly tossed his kunai before he turned to walk away as they sunk surely into the center of the target. He smirked at Naruto's calculating gaze as he walked past, tilting his head back a smidge proudly. Naruto's answering grin surprised him, and he found himself fighting to smile back. He schooled the urge away with a scowl, and turned to watch the rest of the students throw. There weren't many left, and soon the class was back in the room, lounging in their seats as Iruka began the first lecture of the year.

Naruto listened attentively for a few minutes, then began to daydream, bored. Had lessons been this easy last year? He was bored! As Iruka continued to drone on and on, Naruto figured that, since he already knew this stuff, it wouldn't hurt to finally draw up that training schedule he'd been thinking about. Pulling out a blank scroll, Naruto smirked. He would put 'scouting and infiltration exercise' down for the 'sneaking into the tower' plan. Swinging his feet and humming cheerily, Naruto continued to fill out his new schedule.

Iruka had been happily surprised when, at the beginning of class, he had noticed Naruto's attentiveness, but now he was irritated. Naruto, after staring into space for a quarter of the lesson, was now promptly ignoring him and (he could only assume) doodling on a different scroll. So the boy was slacking off already, was he? Did he think he could get by on muscles alone? Iruka scowled.

"Naruto, what did I just explain?" he questioned sharply. The class giggled, assuming that Naruto, the renowned idiot, wouldn't have a clue, as usual.

"The importance of chakra and how to form it." Naruto replied blandly, not even glancing up from what he was writing.

"And what exactly is its importance?" Iruka demanded. It was all he could do to not drop his jaw when Naruto once again rattled off the answer.

"Chakra, which is basically physical and spiritual energy mixed together, can be used in any Jutsu, and is used by ninjas in both defense and offensive attacks.

"Very good " Iruka conceded grudgingly as he turned back to the board. He felt a bit proud of the boy. The reports of the past three years had had Iruka antipating a harder time with Naruto, and he was glad to be able to relax a little.

Naruto grinned wildly as he continued to fill out his schedule. He could've sang he was so happy. He hadn't known this stuff could be this easy!

As soon as the class for the day had ended, Naruto was out the door. Iruka, who had wanted to talk to Naruto about his studying and complement him on his obviously upgraded work ethic, was left in the dust. Running through the village to his old apartment, Naruto was able to ignore the looks of the villagers. He had more important things to do, like plot, and train, and smell the heavenly aroma of ramen that permeated his small home.

Naruto slammed into his house and dropped his stuff by the door before grabbing his schedule and taking it to the table. Spreading it out, he looked down at it and grinned. "Time to go scout out the old man's office."

A/N: Please review it! Just click that little button! Even if all you say is "meh!"

This is slightly different version of the chapter. Just a few things added here and there. But hey, I'm back! 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I grabbed Naruto and ran, but Sasuke hunted me down and got him back.

Thank you Alchemist Astrid, Carles, AkakoChiYuki, and Pepito rulz for the reviews.

Naruto crept around the base of the Hokage's tower, noting the entrances and such.

He had been scouting the place for over an hour already, and was planning to sneak in soon. According to his information, the Hokage would be returning to his office in about half an hour. Naruto wanted to be there to greet him.

A surprise visit, if you will.

But for that Naruto needed to get in unnoticed, hence the sneaking. His goal was to sneak in right under the noses of the village's elite, even the Anbu and the Hokage himself.

Naruto stopped to pull on black gloves as he glanced up and nodded to himself.

He would enter through the window of the office, and to accomplish this he would need to scale the wall- carefully. Cautiously pooling chakra in his hands and feet, Naruto slowly began to creep up the wall. He had stumbled upon this technique in the library, and just recently mastered it. Now he was grateful as he climbed slowly and carefully, and resolved to himself to thank the librarian.

Reaching the window, Naruto stilled to listen for sounds from inside.

Hearing nothing, he slid the window open a crack before listening again.

It seemed all clear.

His heart pounding in his throat, Naruto opened the window the rest of the way and slipped into the office. Closing the window quickly behind him, Naruto eyed the office as he shuffled around the room. The room seemed normal enough for such an important room. His feet made little noise as he crossed the floor and began to riffle through the papers scattered across the desk.

Until the old man got back, Naruto would sift through the assorted scrolls and see if he could find anything interesting. Study and research materials were always welcomed, after all.

Sarutobi was looking forward to a quiet night as he walked back to his office. The meeting had been as boring and long winded as all the other ones, and he frankly couldn't even remember what it had been about. Of course, that particular problem could be chalked up to his old age, but Sarutobi knew that wasn't it. As much as he was feeling his age today, it would be a long time yet before he grew senile. Today was just one of those days. Sarutobi shuffled closer and closer to the location of his office, so engrossed in his thoughts that he nearly failed to notice the presence in his room before he opened the door.

Nearly.

He caught it though, and warily drew a kunai as he opened the door.

Naruto was bored to the extreme as he dug through the scrolls in the office. He had been happy enough at first, excitedly thinking of the Super Secret Scrolls he might find, that would be full of the ultimate moves, but all he had found was boring paperwork.

Just then the door opened, and Sarutobi stepped in looking fearsome. He had a kunai drawn, and Naruto took a step back instinctually, dropping the papers back onto the desk as he went. The old man's expression changed from fearsome to one of surprise, then recognition as he lowered his weapon. It was only the container.

Naruto also recovered from his earlier shock. He quickly pasted a grin on his face and walked around to the front of the desk, where he hoisted himself up and sat to face Sarutobi. The old man quickly scowled at Naruto.

"What are you doing in my office?" he demanded crossly. He was feeling quite crotchety at the moment. Grinning, Naruto raised his hand to scratch behind his head, blushing a bit.

"Ne, ne, old man, I was hoping you could help me with my studies. I snuck in here all on my own to ask, you know."

Sarutobi blinked. Since when had the child cared a whit about studies? His eyes narrowed.

"What prank are you going to play this time, Naruto?"

Naruto's next reply knocked him unbalanced enough to make him believe him.

"It's not a prank, old man!" he exclaimed, jumping off the desk to stand before the Hokage. He was sick of the assumptions that he would always simply be a failure, and that these recent efforts were part of some grand scheme. He was just finally doing it right, damnit!

"I am going to pass this time!" he declared. That said, Naruto decided his declarations were enough for the moment, and flung open the window so he could race off dramatically into the night. Before he left, however, he turned back to the old man.

"See you next time old man. It's really easy to sneak in here, you know?" he chirped cheekily before he left.

Sarutobi blinked at the now-empty open window, and closed the door he was still holding open with one hand. Naruto was going to actually try in school? That was actually a bit of a relief. With Naruto focused on school, he would have less time to plot pranks, and life would be much easier.

The villagers still after his blood would hopefullly quiet as well, with Naruto lying low.

Feeling a little younger and more awake, the old Hokage sat at his desk and started to sort the papers Naruto had scattered everywere. He left the window open.

A/N: Click the review button...you know you want to...  



	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, why would I be writing a fanfiction?**

**Thank you, Alchemist Astrid, for the review.**

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Dawn saw Naruto already up and practicing, throwing kunai and shiruken at targets at a dizzying speed.

Suddenly he spun and continued his volley on a bush in the practice field that had made a noise. It had just been a rabbit however, and thankfully escaped. Naruto sighed a bit and ran his hands through his hair, now jumpy on adrenaline.

He would have to go to the Academy soon, so Naruto gathered his stuff and was heading back to his apartment when he ran into Kiba.

"Naruto!" he exclaimed in surprise.

"Kiba." Naruto replied automatically. The two stood awkwardly for a few moments, not really sure what to do, until Kiba started again.

"I was just looking for Shikamaru and Chouji," he offered, shifting from foot to foot as he spoke. "One of my civilian cousins gave me this sweet gaming system and I wanted to show it to them."

Naruto gave an excited exclamation.

"Oh man! Is it an Xbox?" he asked.

"Er, yeah," Kiba replied. "You have one?"

"No, but I've been wanting to try one for ages!" Naruto answered, grinning easily.

"You wanna come over after class and play with us? I'm asking over Chouji and Shikamaru too." Kiba offered suddenly. The two stood still for a moment, both surprised by the offer.

"….sure." Naruto said finally, then turned to leave as he realized he still had to get home and eat.

"Gotta go, but I'll see you then!"

Naruto hurried back to the apartment with a grin on his face. This was the first time he'd been invited to some else's house. He couldn't believe the guy had an Xbox! He slammed into his apartment hurriedly, leaving a trail of clothes in his wake as he changed on the way to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, he grabbed the milk, gulping it from the carton as he searched for something substantial to eat. Eventually Naruto pulled out some eggs, which he cracked and dumped into a frying pan. He started the stove and set the pan down, pausing his drinking of mild long enough to splash a dash of it in with the eggs.

Naruto glanced at the clock nervously as he cooked his eggs. He still had to eat them and brush his teeth and get to the Academy on time.

He had to be there on time, and where was his homework?

What if Kiba didn't like him?

What if he decided Naruto really was a monster, just like all the villagers said?

Naruto sighed and moved his eggs off the stove before they could burn.

It was no use worrying about it, he supposed as he grabbed a fork on the way to the table.

Then he glanced at the clock.

"Shit."

Running down the road with his homework in hand, Naruto worried. He worried that he would mess up in school today and Kiba would change his mind about the invitation, or that Kiba wouldn't like him. He worried that Kiba's friends wouldn't like him, or Kiba's family wouldn't.

Worst of all though, Naruto worried that Kiba had just been playing a joke when he gave the invitation. What if they all thought he was just a useless idiot, and a monster? So many people had called him that, and why would everyone lie?

All these things ran through Naruto's head as he rushed through the town to the Academy, but despite his inner turmoil and insecurities, his face seemed cheerful.

It was Naruto's survival gear, his camouflage. Don't let them know when you're scared, don't let them know when you're worried. Hide your weaknesses and never show your true strength. These were the first rules Naruto ever learned as a child, instilled into him by the beatings of the villagers.

Iruka was still moving stuff into his classroom when he heard footsteps pounding down the hallway. Suddenly Naruto skidded into his room, red faced and panting.

"Sorry I'm…late…" Naruto gasped, his hands on his knees. Iruka raised an eyebrow.

"Naruto, you do know that today is daylight savings, don't you?"

Naruto blinked and straightened fully.

"It is?" At Iruka's nod, Naruto gave a sheepish grin.

"Well then I guess I have time to eat breakfast after all." Dropping his stuff at his desk, Naruto waved to his teacher and walked out the door.

"I knew the place was too quiet." He muttered to himself as he walked back home. Naruto ate his breakfast quietly with no mishap, and even managed to wash the dishes before he left for school at a more sedate pace.

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"School will always be destined to be boring, whether you know what's going on or not," Naruto mused out loud from under the old tree. It was lunch break, and Naruto was eating quietly on the outskirts of Kiba's group, not quite part of it, but not quite on his own.

"It's troublesome." Shikamaru agreed, surprising Naruto out of his melancholy mood. Nara was lying stretched out on the grass, staring sleepily up at the clouds, and Naruto hadn't known he was listening.

"That too," Naruto said with a nod after a pause. The two sat in silence the rest of the lunch, one lethargically watching clouds, the other contemplating the definition of the word friend.

He didn't have any friends at present, this he knew, but would anyone in the village be his friend? Could he, maybe, ask Kiba to be his friend? As excited as the thought made him, however, Naruto decided to wait until after tonight. He still wasn't sure that the invite wasn't a hoax, after all.

Just then the tone to end lunch sounded, and Naruto snapped his head up in surprise.

Ow.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head with a grimace and glared at the offending tree he had whacked his head into. Then he stood with a sigh.

Time to doze through the rest of class.

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**A/N: Here it is, chappie 4. Now, to all of the people who are reading this...  
Please review? Pretty please? 0_0 I'll give you an imaginary cookie!**

**Reviews=motivation people! (If I get enough reviews I'll post the next chapter sooner than planned)  
Okay. Spiel done.**


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